Anneke should have opened a flower shop earlier in her life, but the point was that she had one now, and it brought her joy just opening up the shop every day. She could also write a book on some of the more amusing customers she received:

“...I’m looking for my last chance flower!”

“...How do I say, I’m sorry but you should have never left me for your dog?”

“...Here’s a picture of my crush, what kind of flower do you think would be his favorite?”

As long as they paid and were satisfied, who cared how ridiculous these requests were? The last chance flower ended up being a cactus, the dog lover’s ex bought a bouquet of cosmos and the crush received lilies. Today though, she hoped it would be a straightforward day. It was starting to get cold and she would prefer closing up early to indulge in a cup of coffee in the warmth of her humble flat.

*SLAM*

A pretty blonde woman, with tanned skin and glasses, dressed in a red hoodie with a long beige skirt underneath threw the door of the shop open. Her face was flushed in anger as she slammed 20 bucks on the counter. “How do I passive aggressively say ‘FUCK YOU’ in flower?!”

Anneke stared at the girl in wonder then smiled like the good flower-shop owner and salesperson she was “I have... just the thing.” She winked.

“Let’s frame it with some orange lilies...for hatred, hmmm an-”

“No, no, sorry, this is for my idiot brother and he drives me up the wall but I don’t hate him.” The pretty girl was blushing now, wearing an odd expression mixed between anger and guilt.

“If he’s an idiot there’s no point feeling guilty for being mad at him, I love my own younger brother but he does annoy me sometimes.” Mostly his taste in women, but that wasn’t really any of Anneke’s business. “Alright then...geranium for ‘you’re stupid...?’”

“Yes!”

Anneke pulled out a handful of the bright purple clustered flowers. “With...” Anneke wandered to another corner of her store “Meadowsweet for a bit of contrast, it means you think that he’s useless, oh! And it’s an herb as well so you could even use it to brew some tea if you want, it’s good for you-”

“A little odd that such a useful flower means ‘uselessness?’” The woman asked, following her around the store with genuine curiosity.

Anneke shrugged. “Yellow carnations for ‘you have disappointed me’?”

“Oh yes! I’ll take twice the amount of those oh...that would cost more wouldn’t it?”

Anneke looked down at those striking violet eyes and almost gulped. “No, of course not.” Then wanted to hit herself...YES this bouquet was going to be worth more than 20 bucks but she was currently being a sucker for a pretty face. She could feel her cheeks starting to burn, quick! Change the subject! “If you don’t mind my asking, how did he disappoint you? You don’t need to tell me actually, but have a seat while I wrap this up for you.” She pulled out some extra greens to pad out the bouquet and the necessary wrap and ribbons. This was going to be the prettiest ‘fuck you’ bouquet she had ever put together (the first really, one to join the stories), but the prettiness and care would deliver the passive aggressive tone that her customer seemed to find important.

“No it’s...I suppose I should get this out. My brother forgets my birthday every year, EVERY YEAR! For heaven’s sake! We live in the same house! I never forget his birthday! AND IT’S ONLY FOUR DAYS BEFORE HIS!”

Anneke looked up with an incredulous face. “Every year? How stupid is he?!”

“Exactly! Argh! No it’s just...” She sighed. “He’s not exactly stupid, just really self absorbed.”

Wait, was today...” Anneke surreptitiously looked at the calendar hanging on her wall - July 1. “Hold on, I need to get more wrap, do you mind keeping an eye on the door?”

“Of course not!” The woman cheerfully replied. “Thank you so much.”

Before Anneke walked to the back she hesitated, then held her hand out. “I’m Anneke, what’s your name?”

Was the woman blushing again? “Madeline. Pleased to meet you. Maddy’s also good.”

Anneke probably imagined the electric tingling she felt when she grasped Madeline’s hand. There was so much sweetness in Madeline’s face, offset by the strength and steel behind those eyes and the firmness of her handshake. Curious. Anneke noted the slight dusting of adorable freckles across Madeline’s nose, her slightly messy hair-

“Did you um, need to get something from the back?”

Anneke pulled her hand back like it was burned. “Oh! Yes, sorry. I’ll go...uh...excuse me.” She all but ran to the back with the ‘fuck you’ bouquet and buried her face in her hands. ‘Stupid stupid stupid...’ she hissed to herself. She ought to be rubbing her own face in geraniums. Anneke took a deep breath and looked at the larger collection of flowers she had in her storeroom and got to work.

Later she stepped out with the ‘fuck you’ bouquet beautifully wrapped in tan and white paper, tied with a bold blue ribbon. It actually smelled pretty good, but that was the meadowsweet. “Here’s your ‘fuck you’ bouquet.” Madeline shyly but gratefully took it. “And well...here, happy birthday.”

Madeline gasped and blushed at the sight of the other smaller and simple but elegantly wrapped bouquet of red and red and white ‘flaming club’ tulips tied together in a bunch with red ribbon.

“You’re wearing quite a bit of red, I hope it’s a color you like.” Anneke also wasn’t sure if she hoped Madeline knew basic floriography or was completely ignorant.

Madeline only stared at the little bouquet with her mouth slightly open, not moving a muscle. Oh no, did she not like it? “Perhaps you don’t like tulips? I-”

“NO! I LOVE IT!” She reached out and wrapped her hands around Anneke’s that was holding it. “I...I’m just surprised! Thank you! They’re stunning I’ve, I...I have no idea what to say.”

Anneke felt the full-blown flush on her face now. “No need to say anything just...happy birthday, I hope it’s a lovely day, even with an idiot brother and...”

They stood there in awkward silence for a moment, Anneke trying to get the courage to ask Madeline for a number, a coffee anything, and Madeline just turning as red as her hoodie.

“Um...thanks, have a good day.” Madeline finally said.

“You too.”

After the door closed, Anneke put her head down on her counter table and knocked her head against it a few times for good measure.

She took home a bouquet of geraniums for herself that day.

“You didn’t ask her out?!”

“Not today, Mette.” Anneke grumbled at her Danish best friend who had a bad habit of just hanging out around her shop whenever she got bored. “Not ever actually.”

Mette whistled. “She must be something.”

Anneke rested her head against her shop window forlornly. It had been a week since she had met Madeline and she hadn’t stopped thinking about the woman. She hoped that Madeline managed to have a lovely birthday after all, and that the bouquet was more of a fond reminder of her shop rather than an embarrassment. “She is, she’s...” Anneke narrowed her eyes at the sound of the door opening, she wasn’t in the mood to serve a customer right now but she probably should be trying to do something.

The man looked somewhat familiar but Anneke was sure she had never met him before. He slammed 20 bucks on the counter. “How do I say ‘I’m SORRY I’m an idiot but it would help if you weren’t PASSIVE AGGRESSIVE about everything and hey I know how to use the internet to look up flower meanings’ in flower?!”

Oh hell no. “No.” Anneke grit out.

“Really Annie? I’m sure you’d be able to pull that off.” Mette piped up from the back but Anneke glared at her.

“No?” The man looked confused.

“No! I’m not going to help you passive aggressively communicate your frustration with someone else’s passive aggressiveness! Take your money, go home and talk to your sister and actually fucking listen to her and put some effort into your relationship!”

“But-”

“NO! I’m not going to encourage this! What happens next? Your sister comes in and demands a passive-aggressive bouquet that means ‘shut up?’ Will I get a visit from your parents next to put together a bouquet for their children that passive aggressively tells them to stop having an argument with flowers? Talk to your sister, go home. Honestly!” Though internally, Anneke screamed at the lost income - a silly family speaking to each other about difficult things exclusively in flower would have been a great opportunity. A nice challenge too.

But Madeline’s brother narrowed his eyes and wouldn’t back down. “You’re the florist Maddy went to?”

Anneke didn’t see how the question warranted an answer, it was perfectly obvious.

“So you’re the one who made her the little birthday bouquet.”

The worlds ‘I know how to use the internet to look up flower meanings’ echoed back to her. Covering, she scoffed, “You can’t trust everything you read on the internet, now go home and try to be a good brother. Honestly, you have a sibling whose birthday is just a few days from your own and you can never remember it? Neither of you are children. I mean, are you actually sorry? Or are you just mad because you just happened to browse the internet?”

“I don’t...look, it’s none of your business alright? I swear I don’t do it on purpose and yes...I am sorry. I’m not...” He sighed. “Fine, you’re right, I need to talk to Maddy about this, not you.”

Anneke raised an eyebrow and sighed. She took the twenty and pulled out a single white orchid. “I’m ignoring everything you requested after ‘but’, a white orchid means ‘strength’ and that you’re ‘seriously sorry’. So sorry that you’re not going to forget what you did. Only take it if you mean it though.”

To his credit, he shut up, took the orchid and left.

“Um...Annie?”

“What is it Mette?”

Her friend stood up from behind the counter. “Shouldn’t you have asked him for his sister’s number or something?”

Anneke took another bouquet of geraniums home with her that night.

The third week, a surly looking English gentleman walked into her shop, eyed her suspiciously and finally asked for a bouquet of deep-blue European Irises.

The day after him, a French gentleman came in, eyed her curiously, and ordered a bouquet of red English roses.

The only reason Anneke remembered them was because they just stared at her so intently. She checked her CCTV cameras just to have their ID on hand in case she needed to call the police.

Thankfully at the end of the week, a blushing Madeline re-entered her store. Unfortunately, she was accompanied by her brother, who was practically pushing her in there.

“Welcome back.” Anneke greeted with amusement and nervousness having Madeline back in her store, as she had been hoping for desperately since the first day Madeline had left it. “I see that you two have made up?”

Madeline smiled shyly and shrugged while Alfred let out an enthusiastic ‘Yeah!’ and started talking way too much before he suddenly stopped himself and elbowed his sister. “Anyway, I um...have a place to be, bye!”

He all but ran out, but didn’t really run out, because as soon as he disappeared from sight to the right of the street, his head peeked back in the corner, as if no one could see him. Idiot. Anneke felt really sorry for Madeline.

“I’d like to order a bouquet.” Madeline’s shy request brought her back to the moment. Ah well, she would tell her about her brother’s odd behavior later.

“Of course, how may I help you?”

“Uh...pink camellia...”

Anneke froze. Pink camellia meant ‘I long for you’. She sighed and couldn’t help the sadness starting to grow in her chest.

“Gardenia...”

Anneke bit the inside of her cheek and took the requested flower. That one meant ‘You’re lovely.’

“Gloxina...”

‘Love at first sight.’

“Jonquil...”

‘Love me in return.’ There was certainly a theme to this bouquet, to Anneke’s chagrin but it was going to make for an odd-looking combination.

“Red tulips, plenty of those actually...”

That was cruel.

“And why not? If you can, perhaps line it with mistletoe? I know it’s an...odd-looking bouquet but...”

‘Kiss me’. “No problem.” Anneke dismissed brusquely and started putting it together. Fine, maybe her own feelings were unrequited but Madeline was a special woman with a unique humor, who deserved to be happy. She wouldn’t sabotage this bouquet, so Anneke built one of the most beautiful bouquets she had ever made.

“Wow that’s...” Madeline gazed at the bouquet with wide eyes and Anneke tried her best not to get lost in them as she handed the masterpiece over.

“Here you go. That will be forty.” It was a discount even at that price.

Madeline nervously pulled out the money with shaking hands, exact change, and took the bouquet.

“Well good luck.” Anneke smiled as warmly as she could. If this was the last time Madeline walked into her shop, well, she was memorizing her features right now. Maybe she’d try to paint it when she got home.

But Madeline didn’t move anyway, in fact she simply held the bouquet out, as if handing it back.

Anneke frowned. “You’re returning them?! Is there a defect?” Anneke turned the bouquet around this way and that trying to find the flaw.

“No! Nothing’s wrong just,” Madeline scrunched her eyes. “They’re perfect! Keep them, I got them for you.”

...

Anneke just stared at Madeline, struck dumb. Somehow that was just her when it came to Madeline whose surname she didn’t even know.

“It’snotanythingyou’reforcedtoreturnIjustwantedtotellyouthatyou’rewonderfulokayI’msorry bye!”

Anneke just managed to come to her senses before Madeline could run out of her store. She dropped the bouquet on the counter and desperately grabbed the shorter woman’s arm. “Wait! That bouquet is...you like me?”

Madeline shook with nerves? Or who knows what, but she managed a nod.

All the heaviness in Anneke’s chest left in that moment so suddenly she felt as if she could fly. She smiled so hard she could feel her own cheeks hurt. “That’s...” The image of mistletoe came back to her and Anneke took Madeline’s face gently in her hands and kissed her softly, just as she asked. Madeline’s lips were soft, and tasted sweet.

When they pulled apart, Anneke smiled and said. “Thank you. I’m about to close up the shop for a break, would you be free to join me for lunch?”

Madeline grinned with the light of the sun and nodded. As they left the shop and walked hand in hand to the cute coffee shop in the corner, Anneke pretended she didn’t see the surly Englishman, odd Frenchman and Madeline’s idiot brother hiding in the alley near her store. She only looked at the face of the woman whose hand she was holding and grinned at her own luck - odd family or not, Anneke got the feeling that Madeline was going to be worth it, and more.

The first three funny customers and the cactus are inspired by the lovely movie Imagine Me and You.